Hot air gun - less good for radial extraction?

[Sutty]

I've had a couple of extraction sessions recently and tried the hot air gun technique: it's very quick and easy and much less messy.
 However extracting radially I have a strong impression that more honey is left behind than with knife uncapping. I suspect the little blobs of wax at the edge of the cell sometimes prevent honey flowing. I doubt this would be a problem with a tangential extractor.
I may try again and uncap with the frame toolbar uppermost so wax blobs are at the bottom edge of the cell.
Has anyone else noticed this issue?
I know @enrico is a fan of the hot air gun - radial or tangential Enrico?

 

[drdrday]

I'm a fan of the hot air gun, but I have a tangential extractor. Can't say whether it would be any different with a radial extractor, but it works brilliantly for me.

 

[enrico]

I've had a couple of extraction sessions recently and tried the hot air gun technique: it's very quick and easy and much less messy.
 However extracting radially I have a strong impression that more honey is left behind than with knife uncapping. I suspect the little blobs of wax at the edge of the cell sometimes prevent honey flowing. I doubt this would be a problem with a tangential extractor.
I may try again and uncap with the frame toolbar uppermost so wax blobs are at the bottom edge of the cell.
Has anyone else noticed this issue?
I know @enrico is a fan of the hot air gun - radial or tangential Enrico?

Tangential manual until this year when I have gone radial electric. Not had a problem but I extract immediately so no chance for honey to thicken and I also have quite free running honey. Centrifugal force is massive so I can't believe it doesn't get past the edges but worth trying a couple of frames from the same box, one with a hot knife and one with the air gun to see which come out dryest! Glad you have tried it though even if it isn't for you

 

[Sutty]

I'll give it another try with the comb upright & see if it's better.
It's certainly so much faster that I was quite disappointed when I got to a comb with wet cappings!

 

[enrico]

I'll give it another try with the comb upright & see if it's better.
It's certainly so much faster that I was quite disappointed when I got to a comb with wet cappings!

You want to extract with the top bar facing outwards because that is the way the cells slant.

 

[Sutty]

You want to extract with the top bar facing outwards because that is the way the cells slant.

Of course. Just thinking to melt the cappings with the comb upright so the little drops of wax are at the bottom of the cell edge & so don't impede honey flow.

 

[Erichalfbee]

You want to extract with the top bar facing outwards because that is the way the cells slant.

I didn’t know the frames would fit any other way
Bottom bars trailing I do know about.

 

[enrico]

Of course. Just thinking to melt the cappings with the comb upright so the little drops of wax are at the bottom of the cell edge & so don't impede honey flow.

Oh, I see, sorry! Good plan!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I didn’t know the frames would fit any other way
Bottom bars trailing I do know about.

it will on some machines - when I was in Lesotho I visited the regional beekeeping development officer in the Quthing gorge, he showed me the extractors they had for local beekeepers to use - he told me they only ever used the four frame tangential one as whenever they tried using the nine frame radial one, no honey came out, when he showed me the extractor I realised they were putting in the frames with the top bars towards the centre!!

 

[enrico]

I didn’t know the frames would fit any other way
Bottom bars trailing I do know about.

Nor did I, I misunderstood his post. Thought it was an odd statement

 

[Amari]

I tried the hot air gun a few years ago and found it didn't work on old super comb as well as on virgin comb (9-frame radial extractor).

Tried again this year: convert!! (same extractor). I bought a variable temp/variable blow air gun and tried it on max settings = very rapid melt of cappings. Then I scraped the uncapping fork quickly over the comb to scarify. The yield of honey by weight per super was equal to the previous average weight using an uncapping knife.

Advantages: quicker, much less messy, OK to use smaller uncapping tray - no bulky cappings, only bits of brace comb.

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[Mabee]

Question about the heat gun. I did try it once last year but found tiny splatters of wax on the paintwork of the wall of the shed. I decided I couldn’t do that inside the house and didn’t try again. Does this happen to anyone else, was I doing something wrong or do you all do it outside or in a honey shed…?

 

[MarkS]

My experience with hot air gun is that it works perfectly as long as you also scrape off after using hot air gun. As mentioned above little to no wax waste and a clean slab of honey with no sign of wax capings anywhere to stop honey flow. No brainier

 

[Tony Slater]

Does it make any difference whether the cappings are “wet” or “dry”?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Does it make any difference whether the cappings are “wet” or “dry”?

yes

 

[Ian123]

Does it make any difference whether the cappings are “wet” or “dry”?

As above huge difference, when I started the vast majority also used metal spaces leading to slightly fatter combs, the majority now appear to use Hoffmann leading to flatter comb. I find those harder with a knife. I’ve still found nothing faster than a decent knife used like you mean it on reasonable comb.

 

[Jimmy]

My experience with hot air gun is that it works perfectly as long as you also scrape off after using hot air gun. As mentioned above little to no wax waste and a clean slab of honey with no sign of wax capings anywhere to stop honey flow. No brainier

I've yet to hear of any large scale hobby beekeeper/sideliner small scale beefarmer/full time beefarmer use a hot air gun.
Cold knife/fork, hot knife, flail uncapper, semi-automated and automated knives yes, but hot air gun not seen or recommended to the best of my knowledge.

 

[MarkS]

The apiary manager at the first association I joined showed me how to use one- very fast ,little to no mess and very little loss of wax and honey but you have to use a standard comb fork scraper blade to skim off the molten wax capings while using the gun leaving everything clean to extract underneath.

 

[Swarm]

One more thing to get sticky and messy IMO
Fork works fine a hive tool cleans excess wax on the frame after extracting and they go back in the super nice and even.

 

[Sutty]

The apiary manager at the first association I joined showed me how to use one- very fast ,little to no mess and very little loss of wax and honey but you have to use a standard comb fork scraper blade to skim off the molten wax capings while using the gun leaving everything clean to extract underneath.

Are you meaning scrape whilst still molten?